During the summer of 2022, during the month of July, I took part in the Iraq young leader program. During this program, I met high school students from Iraq and learned about their experiences. Together we did leadership workshops, learned about American culture, and became friends.
The program took place in three places: Vermont (3-4 days), Louisville, Kentucky (8-9 days) Washington DC (2 days). In Vermont, we mostly did orientation and leadership workshops. In Kentucky, we dove into American culture, volunteered, and took part in project planning workshops. In Washington DC we went to some of the most famous monuments including the Lincoln Memorial, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, the World War 2 memorial, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. We also visited the state department and talked to some of the people that worked there.
Overall this experience was so life-changing there are almost no words for it. I got to meet and formed bonds with Iraq teenagers that I will treasure for a lifetime. I flew on a plan and took a train by myself.
And a part I am especially proud of myself for, is being one of the firsts transgender people that these Iraq teenagers met. Pushing through the discomfort that the Iraq students had around transgender people was hard but it really just steamed from a place of not understanding what it means to be transgender.
In addition to the on program exchange we also had to design and complete a project: I chose to revamp Sex ed in my school.
Here is where the on program part of falls on my global diploma:
